PSYCHIATRIC–MENTAL HEALTH NURSING 2
COMPLETE STUDY GUIDE AND MENTAL
HEALTH NURSING REVIEW 2026
◉ Psychiatric nursing.
Answer: Nursing care focused on the nurse-client relationship,
therapeutic communication, critical thinking, safety, coping,
medication education, and mental health recovery.
◉ Psychiatric nurse generalist.
Answer: A nurse who uses communication and critical thinking to
teach clients, promote self-care, administer medications, support
case management, and maintain a therapeutic environment.
◉ Mental illness.
Answer: A state of dysfunction involving changes in thinking, mood,
or behavior that affects a person's ability to function.
◉ DSM-5.
Answer: A standardized manual used to classify and diagnose
mental disorders based on symptoms.
◉ Stigma of mental illness.
,Answer: Negative beliefs that mental illness means a person is
flawed, weak, dangerous, or 'not really sick.'
◉ Self-efficacy.
Answer: A person's belief that their actions can make a difference in
their health and recovery.
◉ Self-awareness.
Answer: The nurse's ability to recognize their own values, beliefs,
feelings, and past experiences so they do not interfere with client
care.
◉ Client safety in mental health.
Answer: The priority concern, especially with suicide risk, violence,
injury, psychosis, impulsivity, and inability to care for self.
◉ Rights of psychiatric clients.
Answer: Clients have the right to make decisions, refuse
medications, privacy, dignity, informed consent, and the least
restrictive treatment.
◉ Least restrictive environment.
Answer: Providing care in the safest setting with the fewest
restrictions possible.
, ◉ Deinstitutionalization.
Answer: The shift from long-term psychiatric hospitalization to
community-based mental health care.
◉ Inpatient psychiatric care.
Answer: Treatment used to stabilize acute symptoms, provide safety,
adjust medications, and discharge the client back to the community
as soon as safely possible.
◉ Criteria for inpatient psychiatric admission.
Answer: Danger to self, danger to others, or inability to care for basic
needs in the community.
◉ Dual diagnosis.
Answer: A client has both a mental health disorder and a substance
use disorder.
◉ Crisis intervention.
Answer: Short-term care focused on safety, support, problem-
solving, and returning the client to their pre-crisis level of
functioning.
◉ Goal of crisis intervention.
COMPLETE STUDY GUIDE AND MENTAL
HEALTH NURSING REVIEW 2026
◉ Psychiatric nursing.
Answer: Nursing care focused on the nurse-client relationship,
therapeutic communication, critical thinking, safety, coping,
medication education, and mental health recovery.
◉ Psychiatric nurse generalist.
Answer: A nurse who uses communication and critical thinking to
teach clients, promote self-care, administer medications, support
case management, and maintain a therapeutic environment.
◉ Mental illness.
Answer: A state of dysfunction involving changes in thinking, mood,
or behavior that affects a person's ability to function.
◉ DSM-5.
Answer: A standardized manual used to classify and diagnose
mental disorders based on symptoms.
◉ Stigma of mental illness.
,Answer: Negative beliefs that mental illness means a person is
flawed, weak, dangerous, or 'not really sick.'
◉ Self-efficacy.
Answer: A person's belief that their actions can make a difference in
their health and recovery.
◉ Self-awareness.
Answer: The nurse's ability to recognize their own values, beliefs,
feelings, and past experiences so they do not interfere with client
care.
◉ Client safety in mental health.
Answer: The priority concern, especially with suicide risk, violence,
injury, psychosis, impulsivity, and inability to care for self.
◉ Rights of psychiatric clients.
Answer: Clients have the right to make decisions, refuse
medications, privacy, dignity, informed consent, and the least
restrictive treatment.
◉ Least restrictive environment.
Answer: Providing care in the safest setting with the fewest
restrictions possible.
, ◉ Deinstitutionalization.
Answer: The shift from long-term psychiatric hospitalization to
community-based mental health care.
◉ Inpatient psychiatric care.
Answer: Treatment used to stabilize acute symptoms, provide safety,
adjust medications, and discharge the client back to the community
as soon as safely possible.
◉ Criteria for inpatient psychiatric admission.
Answer: Danger to self, danger to others, or inability to care for basic
needs in the community.
◉ Dual diagnosis.
Answer: A client has both a mental health disorder and a substance
use disorder.
◉ Crisis intervention.
Answer: Short-term care focused on safety, support, problem-
solving, and returning the client to their pre-crisis level of
functioning.
◉ Goal of crisis intervention.
